Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Here comes the wake up call!
"If we can see we're not in control, maybe we can hear the truth that Mother Teresa once articulated -- that in ministry we're 'not seeking to be successful but merely faithful.' The results of our labors are in God's hands. We can trust that our young people belong to God--that Godhas been seeking to love them since before tey were born and will continue to love them long after they leave the influence of our ministries.
I have observed too many churches and youth ministries whose methods expose a consistent distrust of God. These ministries embody a sense of urgency that communicates a God who is either a relentless taskmaster or completely incompetent. This is the "functional atheism" of which Parker Palmer writes. In youth ministry it appears as an endless parade of duded-up Christian rock stars, hyperactive activities, word heavy programs, and teen devotionals covered in exclamation marks!!!!! There is a tangible sense that God must be dressed up or hidden behind high-energy music and charismatic speakers. Our churches and ministries seem deathly afraid of any kind of downtime. All silence and stillness eradicated for fear that youth might find God disappointing, boring, or absent. It's as if our church and ministry leaders suspect God has left the building, and so they stall with jabbering words and meaningless activities in hopes the crowd won't become restless." - Mark Yaconelli

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